Marc Marquez stands with Pecco Bagnaia: "He will return to the top, I trust him"

Marc Marquez, absent in the MotoGP season finale due to an injury suffered at Mandalika, defends his teammate Pecco Bagnaia from a distance. A world champion in a season marked by the atavistic problems of the Factory Team’s other Ducati, the Catalan expressed his solidarity with his colleague while also giving him some advice in view of a 2026 that will have to represent the great revival for him.

“I am sorry to see a teammate struggling with such great difficulties – said Marquez in an’interview for the Spaniards of ‘AS’ -. Besides, having two riders who are doing well helps the project grow a lot. Certainly Bagnaia is coming from a rollercoaster year, and even he cannot explain why. The best thing he can do is wait for the’winter, reset everything and aim to return to the top level in 2026”.

Marquez said he is absolutely convinced that Bagnaia has every chance of making it. “In Japan and Malaysia we clearly saw that Pecco has certainly not forgotten how to go fast on a motorcycle. Let’s hope he can pass it all, for his sake and also for Ducati’s. There will also be tests in Valencia next week, and they will be decisive in deciding the directions to take on engine and aerodynamics”.

And Marc Marquez trusts his colleagues who will give guidance to the team and Ducati engineers in his absence. “We have two suitable riders for this task. One is my brother Alex, the other is undoubtedly Bagnaia. Who, I hope, will be able to find himself really well. I will be back in Sepang, in the test in Malaysia. What I find will be fine, I will adapt. Then we will also see how the others will work, starting with the’Aprilia, which can no longer be considered a surprise”, concluded the 2025 world champion.